 Uh, things can get messed up at the workplace. That's for sure, especially in an election year. The numbers continue to climb. The number of, uh, folks, uh, that are amidst strife at the workplace. And we have workplace culture expert. We've had him on several times and, uh, couldn't think of a timelier topic than to talk with Jason Tru about the, about politics and the workplace. Hey, Jason, good morning. Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me back on the show. You know, we always hear you shouldn't talk about certain things at work. And if looking at what people discuss on social media and how heated that can get. Well, I think if you can just say those things on social media, you got to wonder what people will say face to face. And we're talking about not talking about politics in the workplace. Yes. I think that, you know, I think workplace and talking about, you know, politics, and the really divisive between people, because people are typically trying to convince other people of what they want to believe. And that becomes really difficult because people aren't changing parties. I mean, the Republicans are Republican and a Democrat, Democrat. And you've got to work with these people past November 8th. So you really need to rethink having these conversations in the workplace because it can really negatively affect, you know, your ability to be successful. It's a very, it's very much a catch 22 situation, Jason, because this is an election that has evoked such passion with such contrast in the, in the candidates. There is one similarity. They're both very much disliked in the polls, but it, you know, our workplace is where we spend more time with people compared to even our family. So you would think, you know, that conversation eventually has to come up. It's just, and it's just, it's, it's not one of those things that maybe is easily avoided or is it? Well, I think that you have to, you know, one, if you're going to have a conversation with people about it, you've got to know boundaries and you've got to be respectful and you've got to know when to walk away because otherwise you're going to alienate those people that you have to spend all this time with. And that's going to cause problems, obviously, for you because you've got to go to work every day. You don't want to go to a place where you don't like it or people don't like you. So I think that actually it's probably better if you do try to avoid having a conversation because just you're really not going to get yourself anywhere by having, because you're not going to convince anyone. And I think if someone brings it up to you, you can say to someone, look, I just don't want to talk about politics. It's just not something that I'm comfortable doing. You could bridge to another topic, talk about something else. Or if you know that you're on the other side, you could say to someone, Hey, let's just agree to disagree and move on. You know, and that is, that is a lost art these days, Jason, because people want you to believe what they believe or not. And people, people cannot find some kind of happy medium, like I think we once did, but I'm all with you. There is no need to talk about politics in the workplace. You pretty much have a pretty good idea if you're friends enough with somebody at the office, which way they might lean. And if you don't know, then more power to both of you for keeping that under wraps. Now, Karen, no, I can't believe somebody would actually vote for filling the blank. That seems like that would help people get along, Jason. Yeah. So I, you know, it could have caused you a lot of problems. And especially if it gets out that you're on one side or another potentially. I mean, if your manager is a Republican and you're a Democrat, I mean, some of these things can cause a lot of problems for people. And I just don't think it's worth it because there's very little upside for you both personally and professionally to be having these conversations with people there. There's only other things you could talk about that could be way better and a way better use of your time. Agreed. In fact, with this poll that you've got here, 45% of Americans have gotten into a fight over the election with a friend, family member or coworker this year. And you know, on social media, I keep coming back to that because I've just seen this sheer and utter divisiveness on it. You can unfriend somebody and maybe not ever have to see them again at work though, not so easy to do. Right. And I think by looking through social media and seeing all the responses in your news feed, especially in Facebook, I mean, everyone knows how heated this election is by reading that. And also just by seeing the latest poll, I mean, either going back, and it's going to be such a close election that people are really going to try to be advocating their point of view. And you just don't want to get sucked into that vortex because like a black hole, you just get sucked deeper and deeper. And then you just can't get yourself out of it. You could cause irreparable damage to relationships that actually matter to you. The way I look at it, at least here in the immediate Memphis and Tennessee area, this state's going to go red to Trump anyway. So for anybody that is particularly on one side of the other, it really doesn't make that much of a difference to get into a fight because this state's not one of the battleground states that's in play anyway. So it's whatever's going to happen here is going to happen here. It's almost more of a battle of ideas than trying to get somebody to win in this state given our electoral process. Right. And so that even makes it to the point where why even have that conversation because you're not convincing someone's going to do very little. So you actually have almost nothing to gain, but you have a lot to lose if you get in an argument with someone and say things that you regret and can cause problems. Because remember, you've got to communicate with these people. You've got to resolve conflicts. You've got to collaborate. I mean, there's a lot of things that you need to do in a workplace. And the last thing you want to do is have to get up in the morning and worry about going into work, feel stressed, feel like a relationship is causing you problems there. I mean, you've got to spend 40, 50, 60 hours a week or more on your workplace. It's just not a place that you want to be causing a lot of problems. You're right, because a lot of people are having enough inner problems, enough inner turmoil trying to figure out who to vote for. No need to spread that around the office. Jason True, we're always glad to talk to you, workplace culture expert. Thank you for joining us this morning on Memphis Morning News. Hey, thanks and have a great weekend. You too.